Afternoon delight

On Saturday we paid another visit to North Norfolk and spent the morning at Titchwell once again. Although Bedfordshire had been blanketed in sombre, grey cloud with quite heavy rain, by the time we’d reached Norfolk the weather had improved greatly and by late morning the sun even made a welcome appearance.

Notable among the many birds seen were Twite, Water Pipit, Bearded Tit, and Spotted Redshank; with Eider Duck, Common Scoter and Velvet Scoter on the sea. There were, of course, numerous ducks, gulls, and waders on view from the Parrinder Hide, including a large flock of Golden Plovers on the Freshwater Marsh - and they really did seem to glow golden in the sunlight.

Unfortunately, a Northern Harrier which had been around earlier was a no-show while we were there, apparently waiting until ten minutes after we’d left and were on our way to Cley before it made another appearance [!].

But we had plenty to look forward to in the afternoon…

Our target bird for the day was awaiting us at Cley (or so we hoped), and sure enough we found him in a field opposite the NOA Walsey Hills reserve – a drake American Wigeon.

Even at a distance he was easy to spot, partly because of his immaculate plumage but also because he was a real bruiser compared to the European Wigeon around him – noticeably larger and bolder. And he certainly used it to his advantage - constantly bullying and harassing the other males.

Still harbouring faint hopes of seeing the Northern Harrier, after leaving Cley we decided to spend the latter part of the afternoon at Holkham, from where it had been reported earlier. On the way to the hide we came across a pair of Goldeneye on the lake by the track and stopped for a while to watch them. In his smart breeding plumage the male is undoubtedly the more attractive of the two…

But on this occasion I was more interested in the female who frequently adopted this posture when on the surface – not sure if it was related to courtship or aggression.

In the end we didn’t find the Northern Harrier but were more than compensated by some excellent birds from the Joe Jordan [Tower] hide at Holkham – a handsome Peregrine Falcon (eventually chased away by a Marsh Harrier), Common Buzzard, Pink-footed Geese in their hundreds (maybe thousands), White-fronted Geese, and Barn Owls hunting in the fading light.

Out with the old and in with the new

Having spent more time than usual at home over the Christmas period due to the icy conditions, by the time New Year’s Eve arrived I was determined to get out somewhere – anywhere! Plan A was soon formulated - a trip to Southill for some Tree Sparrows that had been reported there, and I set off just after 9 o’clock. The Tree Sparrows were good, and a new county species for me, but my little expedition only took an hour so and in no time at all I was driving back again, and trying to think of a Plan B. Eventually I narrowed it down to two options – a pile of ironing waiting for me at home, or a Ring-necked Parakeet waiting for me in Leighton Buzzard. Umm… which to choose…

[Let's face it - the ironing never really stood a chance]

This lone female Parakeet has lived in and around the same paddock in Leighton for several years. Maybe I’m just lucky but whenever I go there she soon flies in, screeching a greeting and making her way through the trees towards me. I always enjoy seeing her and as I stood looking at her I was reminded why – the sight of that beautiful emerald bird quickly dispelled the gloom of a grey and decidedly cheerless day.

A chilly, damp New Year’s Day was spent in North Norfolk where there were plenty of birds to be seen. A largish area of the Freshwater Marsh at Titchwell was frozen but that didn’t deter one Gadwall duck from gamely trying to make her way across it - slipping and sliding and falling over as she went. The open water held most birds of course, but even they didn’t look very happy - many were just hunkered down - trying, I guess, to sit out the inclement weather…



Drake Pintail

One bird that wasn’t the least bit perturbed by the weather was a Ross’s Goose that we came across on Arnold’s Marsh at Cley later in the afternoon. Not really surprising though, since this smaller cousin of the Snow Goose breeds on high arctic tundra in northern Canada. I’m not sure whether this individual was a true vagrant or an escaped captive bird, but it was good to see.

Probably the best bird of the Christmas period for me was seen at Stewartby Lake on Sunday afternoon [2 Jan] - a Red-throated Diver which had turned up there a day or two earlier. These birds usually spend the winter on the sea around the coasts of Britain, so although it wasn’t particularly close - staying mostly in the middle of the lake – the views I had of it were infinitely better than any previous ones of this species. [Remember, you can click on the photos once or twice if you want a closer look.]

Bohemian Rhapsody

I hadn't managed to get to Woburn to see the Waxwings previously but the thought of seeing several hundred was just too much to resist today. And what a sight it was - trees, aerials, wires, in fact anything 'perchable', was covered with them.

They were very mobile, with large groups breaking off and flying along the street and back again. At one point they all suddenly took off together and it was soon clear why, when a Sparrowhawk flew up across the gardens with a Waxwing in its talons. Even though I know birds of prey struggle to survive in this weather too, I couldn't help but feel a bit sad about that.

Trees traced white with frost and multi-coloured Bohemian Waxwings... what a combination.

Winter sun

Spent a lovely day birding in North Norfolk on Saturday with the bright sunshine bringing out the best in the birds we saw - first of which was this Water Rail, eating an eel just off the path at Titchwell...

There were plenty of birds on the Freshwater Marsh, but more than anything it was Pipit territory – Meadow Pipits were everywhere (one flock held twenty birds or more); also a Rock Pipit and three Water Pipits in front of the new [yet to open] hide.

Down at the beach the light was particularly good, so much so that even the less colourful birds seemed to glow...

Grey Plover

Every now and then the Plover would stop and look in my direction, and what an inscrutable expression that bird had!

[Click on the photo once or twice to see it better.]

The cutest bird of the day was, without doubt, this little podge...

Sanderling

We later made our way to Cley, stopping along the road near Burnham Overy to look for a Rough-legged Buzzard that had been in the area for some time. No luck with that, but we did see a pair of Barn Owls and a beautiful ring-tail Harrier with unusual plumage – a dark back and rusty tan underneath (later reported as a juvenile Hen Harrier). 

Cley held the promise of some Shore Larks, which were in the company of a flock of Snow Buntings. On reaching the North Hide area we found the flock quite easily, but unfortunately they were being chased around by a chap with a camera - and the Larks were nowhere to be seen. Thankfully the ‘photographer’ eventually gave up and wandered off, and within minutes the Snow Buntings returned to the shingle, followed closely by four Shore Larks.

Rainham Reedlings

After a very cold morning’s walk round Elmley Marshes, Kent on Saturday - shrouded in freezing mist which stubbornly refused to clear, Carolyn, Malcolm and I decided to spend the afternoon at RSPB Rainham Marshes. We reasoned that even if birds were scarce there was always the option of hot chocolate in the Visitors Centre. As it turned out we made the right choice; not just because of the hot chocolate [with whipped cream – need I say more], but because we managed to catch the matineé performance of a party of Bearded Tits feeding in reeds near the exit gate. They were stunning – we counted a dozen or more, acrobatically working their way through the reeds just a few metres from us and seemingly unconcerned by their audience. Supporting act was a Water Rail doing a Basil Fawlty walk across the channel a couple of times. Cold weather... what cold weather?